34 Year-old, 4 Kids with Body Lift, Tummy Tuck, Spiral Thigh Lift and Breast Augmentation - San Antonio, TX

I actually found my doctor via RealSelf and absolutely loved him when I met him. Aside from Dr. Peter Fisher's rave reviews, I loved the final results of all of his patients. Their incision lines were straight and symmetrical, they maintained their shape (or he added shape to their figures). I had already consulted several other surgeons in the area, but was just unsure and didn't feel confident about any of them. Each one either gave me a vibe of arrogance or just plain disconnect. A big thing for me was incision symmetry. As I browsed through many of their pictures, I noticed a lack of consistency with symmetrical cuts. So, my search continued.

When I first walked into Dr. Fisher's office, it was already such a different vibe. His waiting area was homey and comfy, opposite of the cold and sterile setting that the other offices presented. Meeting him and talking to him was like talking to someone you've known your entire life. He was very friendly, made you feel comfortable and valued; you were not just another face/patient, you were...well, you. You had a story, a journey...he was honored/humbled that you had chosen or considered him to help you complete that journey. He answered every question. He didn't rush you or make you discuss things with his nurse practitioner...he gave you 100% of his attention. Nobody or nothing else mattered. Just you.

Now, aside from his impeccable bedside manner, after our consult and his opinion of what was best for me and my situation, I was astounded at his beyond reasonable pricing and all that was included. His lower body lift included several things that was not included at the other surgeons offices: 1) the actual lift, 2) a tummy tuck, 3) augmentation (via fat harvested from your body) of the buttocks, and 4) augmentation of the hips (same method as #3). Wow. Just wow. Those were things I didn't even consider. His point was that he wanted to make sure his patients maintained a nice feminine shape that wasn't flat. I would also have my breast augmented and a spiral thigh lift--which included liposuction. At my other consults, I was quoted $14-$16 thousand for just a tummy tuck, breast augmentation, and thigh liposuction. For a few $K more than those quotes, I was going to get a lot more and a completely whole new figure. The quote included Dr. Fisher's fee, the hospital fee and the anesthesiologist's fee.

After my consult and discussing the investment with my husband, I called and set up my appointment. Here I am one week post-op and waiting patiently for my recovery and my results. I have yet to see my final results, but my experience thus far has been impeccable. Dr. Fisher has so far delivered his beautiful symmetrical and nicely even cut incisions and I'm sure my final shape will be just as phenomenal. The hospital experience was wonderful. Wonderful bedside service throughout my 3 day, 2 night stay (I had the option to stay an additional night, but declined). My husband had his own "room" within my room, where he could watch television, sleep on pullout bed and shut the door to get some rest away from the night staff's in's and out's. Even his meals were covered. It was AWESOME!

Oh, and did I mention that he gave me his cell phone number and responds to ALL my questions IMMEDIATELY? YES. HE. DOES. I'm LOVING my experience with Dr. Fisher!!!

Week one was great! The good doctor prescribed some great narcotics...ha! My pain was minimal, perhaps a 2-3; I slept most of the week away, I moved at a snails pace, but I could go and come to the bathroom on my own (well, with a walker); I was able to sit on the potty easily with a portable handicap toilet seat that went right over my toilet (we had one in storage). Although, I must admit that I was easily fatigued with walking, and I assume it has to with blood supply being in high demand in other areas). The recliner I bought (with a lift) was great at taking away any difficulty of getting in & out of my seat. I've been sleeping on it this whole time and it has been a great investment.

However, 6 days post-op I decided to lay off the narcotics so I could eat better and get the proper nutrition my body desperately needed (a good balance of protein and complex carbs to help my body heal!). I began a regimen of ibuprofen and tylenol to manage the pain. Their capacity to mask the pain did not compare to the prescribed pain meds (uh, hello), maybe a 5-6 on a pain scale of 10. Week 2 has definitely moved slower, considering that I'm awake and feel more of the trauma to my body, but it has been tolerable and the it improves day-by-day in small increments. I'm getting restless and remind myself that the end results will be well worth all of these post-op struggles.

I'll continue to post updates and include pictures soon.

I have to say that in researching the procedures that I have obtained via Dr. Fisher, I attempted to prepare myself mentally for a lot of pain. However, I am very pleased to report that that was not my experience, at all. I am two years postop from the gastric sleeve and I feel that I experienced a lot more pain with the sleeve--postop--than I did with my body contouring surgery. Yes, the severity of the trauma to my body was much more severe with the body contouring, but the pain I suffered from the gas used during surgery for my sleeve was much more painful. It lingered for over a month and caused severe discomfort. I cried many tears of woe after my gastric sleeve; however, I only cried once after my body contouring surgery. It was the day after surgery and I was heavily medicated, nauseous, and exhausted. My crying session lasted less than one minute.

I will have to say that my most discomfort comes from the swelling. In the words of another patient of Dr. Fisher and RealSelf poster, I have been in "SWELL HELL". This past week, week four, is the first week that I have seen a major decrease in the swelling. I do have days that I swell more than others, but I am sure that has more to do with diet and sodium consumption. Compression is definitely your friend when it comes to controlling swelling. The compression garment that I obtained from my doctor was great. It even had those slits in the vaginal area so that one would not have to remove the garment when going to the bathroom. However, I suffered from severe dry skin postop. The doctor said that it was because of some vital element (I don't remember the name) that your body stops producing after such a dramatic procedure as body contouring. The area where the slits were for easy bathroom usage, caused major chaffing; to the point where the labial lips would get dry sores and bleed. Dr. Fisher prescribed the hydrocortisone 2%, I added Neosporin and that cleared that right up.

This left me with the predicament that I was still in need of compression to control the swelling. Fortunately, I had an arsenal of under armor compression workout pants. I always bought the highest compression available so that my jiggly thighs would not jiggle when I worked out. And, add into the mix that I was actually larger than my preop size due to swelling, the compression was perfect and it did not cause the vaginal chaffing that the other garment had caused.

My swelling included the following areas: my lower back, hips, stomach, thighs (especially outer), rear and vaginal area. Oddly, I had severe swelling in my lower back. To the point where I had a very large, protruding hump above my derrière. It actually caused lower back pain (I'm sure aided by mu hunched over walking). The doctor wasn't too sure why that area was swelling above normal. He tried to extract the fluid, but the fluid was not in between the skin and tissue, but actually within the tissue. So, he prescribed me Lasix to aid my body in flushing out the excess fluid. Also, the swelling from my stomach, hips and outer thighs seemed to pull my rear cheeks apart. You could FOREVER see my (clearing my throat here) anus. Thankfully, as the swelling has decreased, so has the opening of my cheeks and the peek-a-boo party of my (ahem) exit area. People, I just want to convey that your rear is going to look completely awkward and deformed postop. This is completely NORMAL! As the swelling subsides, your shape will emerge. And it will take up to 6 months to see final results. So DO NOT despair!

I'm happy to report that today, the eve of completing my 5th week, my swelling has been at its lowest. My left breast is a bit more swollen than the right, but my figure is starting to emerge. I am, so far, SATISFIED!!!